Maybe it's Just a Womanly Problem
by InosBane
Summary: Gaara and Kankuro can't figure out whats wrong with their sister. Ever since she took the job as Ambassador to Konoha she's been coming home less and less like herself. Implied ShikaTema Companion to In the Interest of Strong Diplomatic Relations.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: A bit of "behind-the-behind-the scenes" with the Sand Sibs. I hope yal enjoy it, it made me smile while writing it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story. Special thanks to Calger's Anime Shrine for the Japanese-English Glossary

**Chapter: 1**

Kankuro noticed the changes in his sister first. They were having lunch together, and instead of eating, she was pushing her food around on the plate. At first he thought she was sick. But when it persisted for a few days, he wondered if maybe she was just bored. Even though Konoha wasn't much more than an academy, and collection of decent restaurants in his opinion, he had to admit that it's lack of sandstorms made it easier to go out and do things. He could even agree that their training grounds offered a much more diverse layout in terms of trees and small hills, meadows, and marshy areas. There was also the weather. Unlike Suna's constant sunshine and dry heat, Konoha actually had seasons. Temari had written an entire report for Gaara about experiencing snow on one of her trips, promising them both that if it happened again she'd try to bring some back to Suna with her.

She was bored, that had to be it. If it was more than that she'd say something, at least to him. Sharing one's inner thoughts and feelings might be a new experience when it came to Gaara, but Kankuro and Temari had been eachother's confidante for years. Who else knew about his secret fear of teddy bears, or her aversion to figs. He remembered how when he was six and a foreign dignitary presented the children of the Kazekage with teddy bears, Temari had intercepted his as he cowered in fear. He'd paid her back by bumping her arm and making her spill a plate of stuffed figs that their father had forced on her at some fancy dinner. The gratitude in her eyes had been worth being sent to bed early. He smiled, as much as they bickered, the Sabaku siblings had eachother's back. If something was up she'd tell him. No point bothering her now. When she was ready, she'd find him.

o-o-o

Gaara noticed not too long after his older brother. Since he wasn't much for sleeping, he'd long ago taken to haunting the library in their home, something he still enjoyed. He could spend hours in quiet solitude. No one judging, no one whispering, no one calling him "monster". Just mountains of books. Stories he'd read for years but was finally beginning to understand. He'd just settled into a book about the founding of Suna, (something he figured **EVERY **Kazekage should know by heart) when he heard footsteps going down the hall.

In and of itself, that wouldn't be alarming. Sometimes Kankuro would come home late at night, humming to himself and reeking of unidentifiable perfume. Gaara never asked. He was still new at learning about feelings and attachment. Even though Kankuro was always ready to answer any question he had, Gaara knew himself well enough to know that **he** wasn't quite ready for a crash-course in "smelling like someone else's perfume".

But it wasn't Kankuro this time. No humming, no smell. In fact, other than footsteps, there was no way to detect that anyone was in the hall. Gaara got up out of his chair and picked up his gourd. If this was some kind of stealth attack he was going to be ready. He made his way down the hall, his sand spreading out before him. When he got to the courtyard he stopped. What he saw made no sense to him. His sister was standing in the middle of the courtyard bathed in moonlight, staring up at the sky.

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	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Yes, the first chapter was short. If it weren't for the sequences of events I probably wouldn't have broken it up into chapters at all, but such is life...

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story

**Chapter: 2**

As Temari wasn't known for nighttime wanderings, Gaara became concerned. Before he made any moves, she puzzled him further by laying down on the ground, putting her hands behind her head, and continuing to stare up at the sky. He knew that pose, the Leaf Shinobi he'd requested to be Temari's escort, Nara Shikamaru, was famous for that pose! He felt comfortable with the Shinobi having worked with him at the Konoha Academy for three months, and hadn't forseen any problems with the two of them working together. Now he wondered, was his sister becoming a lazy ass?

"Onee-san?" Gaara called, not sure whether or not he should be bothering her.

"Gaara?" Temari sat up. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt your reading?"

"I should be the one apologizing. I heard footsteps, but it didn't sound like Kankuro, and well..." he stopped, indicating his gourd.

Temari smiled and patted the ground beside her.

"C'mere Otouto-chan. I was cloud gazing. The sky in Suna isn't as busy at night, and the clouds are gorgeous in the moonlight."

Gaara considered his sister for a moment before removing his gourd and sitting down.

"Put your hands behind your head and lay back, like this." Temari demonstrated. After hesitating briefly, Gaara mimicked his sister's actions.

"Now, " she continued, "just stare up at the sky and let your mind wander."

He wasn't exactly sure what she meant by letting his mind "wander". He knew Nara Shikamaru was a brilliant strategist, is this how he came up with his ideas?

"Look at that cloud there," Temari indicated a gray and white mass to the left. "What's it look like to you?"

Gaara stared blankly at the thing she was pointing at. He thought for a moment.

"Confusion."

Temari laughed.

"But does it remind you of any **THING**? Like a bird, or a bush, or a fish?"

He studied the cloud for a full two minutes.

"A sand dune?" he ventured. She smiled again.

"Yeah, I can see that. Good job."

They spent several hours staring at the sky. Gaara willing the clouds to take on familiar forms. He wasn't exactly sure of the purpose of this exercise, but he was enjoying spending time with his sister. He liked the sound of her laughter and hearing her reactions to his cloud visions.

"Look!" He pointed excitedly, "that one's a leaf! No doubt about it! I've seen leaves like that in Konoha."

Temari agreed that without a doubt, that cloud was indeed shaped like a leaf. She looked at him with an odd expression in her eyes.

"This has been fun, but now I'm exhausted." She stretched and yawned. "We'll have to do this again soon."

She touched his cheek.

"Arigatou Otouto-chan."

Gaara watched his sister get up and walk back down the hall. He could've sworn he heard a loud sniff before her door closed.

o-o-o

A month later, Gaara met with Kankuro in his private office where they once again discussed their sister's odd behavior. Kankuro had briefly suggested that it was maybe just a "womanly problem", but after some consideration, they agreed that it was quite possible something to do with her job as Ambassador to Konoha. One more time she'd come home acting oddly. A previous letter to the Hokage had elicited the response that in Konoha, Temari was "working very hard on ways to maintain strong diplomatic relations". At the time, Gaara had accepted that answer, even if it didn't make much sense. But this was her twelfth consistant time returning home and not acting like herself. If something was going on, if she was being mistreated in **ANY** way...

But that didn't make any sense. With one swipe of her fan Temari could easily whoop the ass of any Shinobi in Konoha, that creepy bug guy included. Gaara rubbed his eyes. For the first time in a long, long time he felt worn out, tired. Kankuro went to get Temari. They both knew they had to confront her. He found her in the greenhouse speaking to one of the gardeners before handing him three small brown objects.

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	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Final Chapter, I hope yal've enjoyed this. I've enjoyed writing it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story.

**Chapter: 3**

"Temari!" He called.

She jumped and turned around with a guilty expression on her face. Kankuro's stomach plunged. This was not his confident, haughty sister. Something was really, really wrong. He could tell by her face that this wasn't just a matter of "womanly problems".

"Gaara wants to see you, it's important." He turned and immediately started walking back to the Kazekage's office.

By the time Temari had realized what he had said, he was gone. She turned to the gardener before hurrying off, "I was told that it's best to add bone meal when planting for the first time."

She ran off before the gardener even had a chance to bow. Once inside the office, Gaara motioned for her to take a seat. She noticed Kankuro was leaning on the desk.

"Temari," Gaara began, "Kankuro and I can't help but notice that since you took the job as Ambassador to Konoha, well," he looked at Kankuro who nodded. "Well, you just haven't been yourself. We're concerned. We don't know if it's boredom, or stress, or 'womanly problems'...the Hokage mentioned you were probably just working on ways to strengthen diplomatic relations. But that was a while ago, shouldn't they be strong enough by now?" Gaara's light green eyes searched his sister's face.

She was struggling with something, he could feel it. Then she smiled.

"Really guys, you brought the Hokage into this?" Her lips thinned for a moment. "She's right you know. As for relations being strong between Konoha and Suna, they are. Between the governments. The citizens of Konoha still have to be convinced that we're not traitors. We **DID** help Orochimaru invade their village afterall. I've been trying to show them that we're their allies, learning some of their more obscure customs. Quite frankly, it's like living a double life." She smiled again and both brothers noticed a little puffiness around her eyes. "It's just stress. Really, I'm fine. I love my job. I love being able to represent the government and the people of Suna. (I love being with Nara Shikamaru.)"

The brothers exchanged looks. They weren't sure what to believe. For the briefest moment they saw their sister as she used to be. They knew she was upset that they'd gotten the Hokage involved, but she'd yet to grab her fan and hit them with it. That wasn't like her at all.

"You're sure that's all Temari? " Kankuro's looked her dead in the eyes. "You would tell us if there was anything we should know, or if something was wrong?"

"If there was anything you needed to know, or anything wrong I would tell you. Absolutely. No question about it."

The brothers were unconvinced.

"What were those brown things I saw you giving the gardener?" Kankuro asked.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Bulbs," she stated simply.

"Bulbs?"

"Bulbs," she repeated. "Flower bulbs, specifically daffodil bulbs. I bought them at the Yamanaka Flower Shop in Konoha."

Gaara leaned forward, a puzzled expression on his face, "what is their purpose?"

Temari laughed.

"They're just flowers," she shrugged. "I guess their purpose is that they make people happy. I'm hoping to develop a species that can handle the desert environment."

"What do we need daffodils for," Kankuro scrunched up his nose. "Nobody likes those things, roses I can see, but daffodils?"

Temari gritted her teeth and exhaled through her nose. Her nostrils flared.

"Otouto-chan," her smiled was fierce and her nostrils were still flared, Kankuro cringed. "You must have forgotten that daffodils are my very favorite flower, and Konoha has some of the most beautiful varieties available. There will come a time when I cease being the Ambassador, and I'd like to have something to show for my efforts."

"As long as that's all you bring back from Konoha..." Kankuro muttered a little to loudly.

"Nani?" Temari reached for her fan.

"Nothing," Kankuro waved his hands in front of his face and moved to hide behind Gaara.

Gaara laughed, Temari was acting normal again, mabye it **was** just "womanly problems" afterall...

o-o-o

Miles away in Konoha, a lean, black-haired shinobi lay stretched out on a bench staring at the clouds overhead. A "plump" brown-haired shinobi sat next to him munching on a bag of barbeque chips.

The larger shinobi made to point at something in the sky.

"Damnit Chouji!" The lean one exclaimed, "not every cloud looks like an hourglass!"

o-o-o**OWARI**o-o-o

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